St. Francisville News

The West Feliciana Parish Law Enforcement District (a.k.a. the sheriff) will hold a public hearing in the sheriff’s meeting room in the parish courthouse at 9 a.m. Sept. 5 on the issue of “rolling forward” property tax millages.

The West Feliciana 911 Communications District will hold the same type of public hearing at 9 a.m. Sept. 9 at the district’s communications center, 9938 W. Feliciana Parkway, St. Francisville.

The West Feliciana Parish School Board’s hearing is at 5 p.m. Sept. 9 at the School Board office, 4727 Fidelity St.

The parish Police Jury’s hearing is at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Courthouse Annex, and the town of St. Francisville will hold its hearing at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Town Hall.

Angola State Penitentiary has a golf course. I played it Saturday, with three of my friends - and 5,000-plus in the gallery. Sort of a captive audience.

Nothing says "bad shot" quite like a tough lie against razor wire. More about that later.

Prison View Golf Course is a fun nine-hole, 18-tees course you can play for $10. And it's on the prison grounds. You putt in the shadow of a guard tower and the whole deal.

I'll write it up this week, so I can get it in the paper when there's room.

Meanwhile, feel safe that you don't just hop off interstate and right into Angola. There is some "want to" involved in getting there. It's remote, which is what I like in my maximum security prisons. It's not hard, but you've got to know exactly where you are going. Saturday, me and Jimmy didn't.

Ferry woes.

I'll spare you all the details — and have you a map when the Prison View story runs — but you probably want to skip the St. Francisville ferry. Oh, it's a fine ferry, don't get me wrong. And the trip over the water is only about 10 minutes. But you've got to hit it just right, time-wise, on the quarter hour. You might as well go to Natchez, Miss., and come in from the east, or drive down to Highway 190 north of Baton Rouge and come back up to Angola that way. Then you've got a sure five-hour trip instead of an iffy 4-and-a-half hour trip if you hit the ferry just right. Or if you find the ferry at all.

What you don't want to do is stop and ask somebody where the ferry is. We think there's only one. There are bunches. What there are not a lot of is bridges. We don't think of that up here, but in south Louisiana, a ferry is a way of life, and they are all over the place. Well, where there's water.

We took off in the direction of a sign that pointed us to the "Angola ferry." Sounds right. That's where we were going. After asking directions from three people, including a nice lady in a housecoat carrying a bent curtain rod, we ended up on the riverbank where a ferry used to be. A guy pulling a boat told us they'd moved the ferry. He also told us we couldn't have ridden on it anyway, not unless we worked at Angola. It's a nonpublic ferry.

Wonder why the curtain rod lady didn't mention that?

West Feliciana Parish sheriff’s deputies and Louisiana State Penitentiary officers arrested two people and seized nearly 20 pounds of marijuana during vehicle and foot chases Sunday night.

Sheriff J. Austin Daniel said his narcotics officers and their counterparts in Concordia Parish believe an attempt by Deputy Ellis Diaz to stop a Lincoln Continental on U.S. 61 about 9 p.m. interrupted “a main narcotics run between Houston, Texas, and central Louisiana.”

The sheriff said the 19.6 pounds of marijuana, found in an ice chest near where two people abandoned the Lincoln after fleeing from Diaz, is a record seizure for his eight-year administration.

The marijuana would have a street value between $9,800 and $10,000, he said.

As Diaz began trying to stop the Lincoln, a Cadillac roared up from behind and got between them, with the vehicles pulling off U.S. 61 and driving around the circular drive at West Feliciana Middle School before heading north at a high rate of speed, Daniel said.

Diaz pursued the Cadillac but lost sight of it after it entered Wilkinson County, Miss., Daniel said, while another deputy following the Lincoln saw two people get out of it and run into the woods in the Laurel Hill area.

The Angola team later found Thomasina Washington, 21, 123 Concordia Park, Vidalia, and Carlos Lewis, 22, 2901 Elmside St., Houston, in the woods.

They were booked with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, Daniel said.

Officers stopped the Cadillac in Woodville, Miss., but the driver had not been booked Monday pending further investigation, the sheriff said.

During the ground search in the area of the four schools in Bains, deputies arrested a St. Louis man in a stolen vehicle an Angola prison chase team found hidden among bushes on an abandoned section of Bains Road, Daniel said.

He said Kenneth Awe, 40, had a gorilla mask and a BB or pellet pistol in a Jeep SUV reported stolen in Virginia and also is wanted in Virginia on seven felony charges.

Awe apparently had no connection to the drug suspects, the sheriff added.

An investigation also is continuing to determine if another person was in the Cadillac but got out near the middle school before the vehicle left the area.

An electrical fire caused heavy smoke damage Sunday night to a fourth-grade classroom at Bains Elementary School north of St. Francisville.

Tommy Boyett, chief of West Feliciana Parish Fire Protection District 1, said the fire originated in the 220-volt receptacle and plug for a through-the-wall air conditioning unit, but “more or less extinguished itself” when a circuit breaker tripped and cut power to the receptacle.

Schools Superintendent Lloyd Lindsey said classes in the fourth-grade wing were shifted to other areas of the school Monday while Louisiana State Penitentiary inmate trusties who do maintenance work for the school district cleaned up the damaged classroom, hallway and other rooms.

Boyett said the burning plastic and insulation produced thick smoke that left soot throughout the classroom. Smoke also entered the hallway for the affected wing.

The parish Fire Department was notified of the blaze about 9 p.m. by the school’s fire-alarm monitoring company, a West Feliciana Parish sheriff’s deputy on night security duty and teachers who were working late in their own classrooms, Boyett said.

St. Francisville Fire Department and parish Emergency Medical Services personnel also responded to the alarm.

Lindsey said the inmate crew, which is supervised by a corrections officer, washed down walls and floors with disinfectants and helped ventilate the classrooms.

Officials plan to reopen other classrooms in the wing today, but students in the damaged classroom will be moved to a science lab, Lindsey said.

The affected students receive extra instruction because they show academic promise in one or more areas, Lindsey said.

Darria Carter, a ninth-grader at West Feliciana High School, took the top award as well as several others during the 2008 session of the Engineering Summer Institute on the Southern University campus this summer.

In addition to polishing skills in academic subjects, critical thinking and ACT preparation, the 30 high school students participated in field trips to industrial sites and a fun trip to the Aquarium of the Americas and Riverwalk Shopping Center in New Orleans during the four-week program.

Carter said she especially enjoyed the trip to the ExxonMobil Refinery and the presentation she made there.

Since she was just a youngster, Carter said, she’s liked “to fix things.”

More than one item in her home has been put together by her, she said.

“I loved to do it by myself. I wouldn’t let anyone help,” she said.

One of her favorite activities at ESI was designing a Web page. She and Shannon Walker of Stone Mountain, Ga., were named “Most Outstanding Web Designers” during the awards ceremony.

Out-of-state students also came from Illinois, North Carolina and Wisconsin. The mix of students from elsewhere added to the learning environment, Carter said.

“Everyone I met was different, with different strengths and weaknesses. I love meeting new people,” she said.

Carter was also recognized for “Most Improved in ACT in English” and “Most Outstanding in Communications and Critical Thinking.”

Other West Feliciana students recognized as outstanding were Cedric Williams, advanced algebra; and Nkeche Nwaubeze, most improved in math on the ACT.

Carter, who moved to this area following Hurricane Katrina, is the daughter of Phyllis and Darvin Carter.

Janifer Peters is associate director of the program.

A native of West Feliciana Parish and a resident of Solitude, James Monroe passed away Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2008, at Promise Specialty Hospital in Baton Rouge at age 72.

A woman told West Feliciana Parish sheriff’s deputies she accidentally shot herself in the mouth Wednesday with a .40-caliber handgun that she thought was unloaded, Sheriff J. Austin Daniel said.

The incident occurred shortly after 1:30 p.m. while Joyce Lee, 27, of St. Francisville, was riding in a car on U.S. 61 south of the town with three other people.

Daniel said Lee was in critical condition at West Feliciana Parish Hospital. She was expected to be transferred later to a Baton Rouge hospital, the sheriff said.

Despite the injury, the victim told deputies she was handling the semiautomatic pistol while she rode in the back seat of the car.

“It didn’t have a clip in it, but it had a bullet in the chamber. Evidently she pulled the trigger,” Daniel said.

West Feliciana Parish police jurors voted 4-3 after a contentious debate Tuesday to buy nearly 19 acres for an Independence community sewage treatment plant.

Jurors Randy Stevens, Ken Dawson, John Roach and jury President Bill Shoemake voted for the purchase from Ray Dreher, while Jurors Otis Wilson, Lea Willams and John Cobb voted against it.

The vote was the opposite of the tally on Wilson’s earlier motion to buy 4 acres from Lula London for the plant.

The purchase price is $18,000 per acre.

London’s property had been the intended site when the sewer project began in 2002, but the deal fell through over major differences in the jury’s appraisal of the property value and the appraisal London submitted.

Early in the discussion, Parish Manager Ambrose Sims told the jury the Dreher property actually is a better buy because it is more centrally located in what is expected to be a high-growth area.

It also would allow for expansion and require fewer pumping stations, he said.

“We are going to do what is best for the whole parish,” Sims said.

Wilson, Williams and Cobb tried for some time to persuade the jury to purchase the original site from London, who said she is willing to sell more land.

Sims also told the jurors that the system should be in operation between July and September 2010.

On another matter, the jury voted to cancel a planned 1-cent sales tax election on Oct. 4 and reschedule it Nov. 4 with proposed projects including water and sewer improvements, drainage and road and bridge work.

Projects dropped from the list include a new jail and new library building.

St. Francisville Main Street Merchants have teamed up to present White Linen Night on Saturday, Aug. 23, at 6 p.m. featuring its unique shops, sensational food and lively music throughout downtown St. Francisville.

The Highlands Bank Trolley will provide transportation along the White Linen Route with stops at designated spots near convenient parking.

Participating merchants will play host to various artists and musicians, while samples from local restaurants can be tasted along the way.

Stroll along Main Street or hop aboard the trolley for a sample of St. Francisville’s hospitality. For more information or a list of participating businesses, log on to http://www.stfrancisvillefestivals.com, or call (225) 635-3873.

The Mississippi River ferry between St. Francisville and Pointe Coupee Parish will operate on a limited schedule of 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, a state Department of Transportation and Development news release says.

The ferry will return to its regular daily schedule, 4 a.m. to midnight, beginning Monday, the news release says.

DOTD said the schedule change is the result of a shortage of licensed marine engineers needed to operate the ferryboat. The news release says DOTD continues to try to hire licensed marine engineers to fill vacant positions.

Marine engineers operate and maintain the engine room and machinery aboard a vessel.

Anyone interested in learning more about the vacancies may visit the DOTD Web site at http://www.dotd.la.gov and click on the “employment section” on the main page menu or call Kevin Reed at (225) 379-1916.

The department also said travelers should call the ferry toll-free information line at (888) 613-3779 or visit the “ferry status” page on the left side of the DOTD Web site.

Well, my husband is home from the hospital and feeling GREAT! And, I know you’re asking your computer monitor, “What happened to her husband and why do I care?” so here’s the story.

My dear hubby got up Sunday, August 3, about 11:00 (typical for him) and said he didn’t feel “great.” After a cup of coffee outside on the patio, he went back to the bedroom and lay down on the bed, saying again that he didn’t feel good. I asked him what was wrong and he said he felt sick to his stomach and that he couldn’t stop sweating. I got a cold rag for his forehead (that’s supposed to cure everything, right?) and told him to put his feet up. That lasted only about 2 minutes.

He sat up and said he was HOT and I couldn't help but notice that he was pouring sweat like somebody had a water hose running on his head. He said he had pain in his right arm and he took 2 aspirin. It was now 12:00.

I told my dearest that we needed to go to the ER and make sure he wasn’t having a heart attack. Much to my surprise, he said yes (that’s when I knew something was terribly wrong). I asked whether I should call an ambulance and he said no, that we should drive.

Even though I doubted the wisdom of the "drive" decision, I knew we needed to get going before he changed his mind. We left a few minutes later and when we got to the local fire station (about 3 minutes away), he told me “pull in, I’m not gonna make it.”

Sorry I've not been able to post any news items since August 1. My husband has suffered 2 heart attacks since then and I'm too busy taking care of him to read/write the news. Please feel free to sign up as an editor and take responsibility for posting the local news each day. Thanks. ~Pragmatist

ST. FRANCISVILLE, LA - A nine-year-old boy has died in an accidental drowning at his home.

Howard Taylor died at 6:50 p.m. Friday, July 25, 2008, at Lane Regional Medical Center, Zachary. He was 58, a resident of Zachary and a native of West Feliciana Parish.

James Dudley Benton died peacefully, surrounded by his loving family, on Friday, July 25, 2008, in Bethesda, Md., after a long struggle with kidney cancer. He was born in Port Hueneme, Calif., on Aug. 18, 1951, grew up in Baton Rouge and resided in West Feliciana Parish.

A lifelong resident of Star Hill, Lucy Dedon died at 1:34 a.m. Thursday, July 31, 2008, in the emergency room at Lane Regional Medical Center, Zachary. She would have been 69 on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008.

"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Psalm 91:1. Larry Darnell Franklin was born on March 26, 1968, in Baton Rouge. On Tuesday, July 22, 2008, God called him home.

A homemaker and a resident and native of St. Francisville, Hattie Lee "Tannie" Hopkins died at 6 a.m. Friday, July 25, 2008, at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. She was 67.

Chef Scott Varnedoe, who spent the past three years running his own restaurant at The Myrtles in St. Francisville, has been lured to The Bluffs country club.

Audubon State Historic Site in West Feliciana Parish begins its new program for August, “Life on a Plantation, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday with “Dressed to Kill,” a talk on games and clothing for the men of Oakley Plantation in the early 1800s.

At Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site, St. Francisville, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Interpretive Ranger Sasha Traña discusses the history of American clothing from colonial times to the 20th century.

Headstone rendering will be taught from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Locust Grove State Historic Site in West Feliciana Parish.